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Construction Site Dangers to Be Aware of

According to OSHA and various other sources, construction is responsible for approximately 4% of the gross domestic product in the United States. Building industry workers have a median pay of approximately $25-30 per hour, according to experience, geographical location and their skill sets. This profession, however is one of the most dangerous profession in the United States, with injury or fatality rates being anywhere from 10-20% of the workforce, depending on the source.

Three of the immediate safety risks inherent to the job are: falls, being struck by or trapped in between objects, and becoming overexerted or suffering a repetitive motion injury. With proper measures and adherence to safety laws and company procedures to address safety precautions on an active construction site, the risks to individual workers can be decreased drastically in these three areas of concern.

There are other safety issues which come up as one explores more about the industry and seeks to reduce other injuries and hazards. After looking at OSHA statistics, it is apparent there are more Hispanic and Latino workers injured per capita than those of other ethnic backgrounds. In some studies, the rate of Latino or Hispanics injured on an active construction site are almost double that of other workers. While this might be seen initially as a scenario of these workers being assigned more dangerous tasks, it simply might be something as easy as language barriers which could impede understanding of the safety policies and procedures or a delay in comprehension of warnings given by co-workers.

In many cases, there are risks to the public that are also element of an active construction site. Proper barriers should be in place to stop the curious (and usually inebriated) explorer from entering the site either during working hours or after the site is closed for the afternoon. Having all of your construction site debris disposed of into 20 yard dumpsters like Centex Dumpster Rental in Austin, Tx. Having the site properly secured is a “no brainer” to many, but there are still those construction wannabes who find a way to get themselves into trouble – especially young adults.

Most accidents on a construction site are simply that – accidents. Most companies simply take construction site safety very seriously and enforce all local laws as well as OSH guidelines. The best of the batch will work to exceed the bare minimum and look for approaches to protect their work force, most people and the environment as well as they build, remodel and repair structures.